"" and "" ( en, "Come, Give Me Your Hand" and "She Loves You") are German-language versions of "
I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "
She Loves You", respectively, by the English
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
. Both
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
and
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
wrote the original English songs, credited to the
Lennon–McCartney partnership, while
Camillo Felgen
Camillo Jean Nicolas Felgen (17 November 1920 – 16 July 2005) was a Luxembourgish singer, lyricist, disc jockey, and television presenter, who represented Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest 1960 and in 1962.
Biography
Felgen started ...
wrote the translated German lyrics. Felgen is credited under several of his
pen name
A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name.
A pen na ...
s. In places, his translations take major liberties with the original lyrics.
Odeon Records
Odeon Records is a record label founded in 1903 by Max Straus and Heinrich Zuntz of the International Talking Machine Company in Berlin, Germany. The label's name and logo come from the Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe in Paris.
History
Straus an ...
released the German versions together as a non-album single in
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
in March 1964.
Swan Records released "", along with the original "She Loves You"
B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
"
I'll Get You
"I'll Get You" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by Lennon–McCartney, and released by the Beatles as the B-side of their 1963 single "She Loves You". The song was initially titled "Get You in the End".
Structure
Typical ...
", as a single in the United States in May 1964.
Capitol included "" as the closing track of the 1964 North American-only album ''
Something New''.
The recording of "" and "" came at a time when it was standard practice for artists to record unique versions of songs for foreign markets. Executives from Odeon insisted with
George Martin
Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the B ...
and
Brian Epstein that in order for them to penetrate the German market, the Beatles would need to record German versions of their biggest songs. The Beatles opposed the idea until Martin convinced them to record. On 29 January 1964, during their only group recording session outside of the United Kingdom, the Beatles recorded the songs at
EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...
's Pathé Marconi Studios in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. For "", they
overdubbed German vocals onto the original backing track of "I Want to Hold Your Hand". The
two-track tapes of "She Loves You" from July 1963 were erased after the
mono
Mono may refer to:
Common meanings
* Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease"
* Monaural, monophonic sound reproduction, often shortened to mono
* Mono-, a numerical prefix representing anything single
Music Performers
* Mono (Japanese b ...
master was made, forcing the Beatles to record "" entirely from scratch. The English and German versions contain differences, the most prominent being Lennon's rhythm guitar; on the former he plays his
Gibson
Gibson may refer to:
People
* Gibson (surname)
Businesses
* Gibson Brands, Inc., an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment
* Gibson Technology, and English automotive and motorsport company based
* Gi ...
J-160E
The Shenyang J-16 ( Chinese: 歼-16) is a Chinese advanced fourth-generation, tandem-seat, twinjet, multirole strike fighterBronk, page 38 developed from the Shenyang J-11 (itself derived from the Sukhoi Su-27) and built by Shenyang Aircraft Co ...
while on the latter he plays his
Rickenbacker
Rickenbacker International Corporation is a string instrument manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California. The company is credited as the first known maker of electric guitars – a steel guitar in 1932 – and today produces a range ...
325 Capri.
The German versions reached number one and seven in the
German charts
The GfK Entertainment charts are the official music charts in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindust ...
, respectively. "" reached number 97 in the
''Billboard'' Hot 100. Following these recordings, the Beatles never again made foreign versions of their songs. Commentators have credited the band's subsequent practice of only releasing their songs in the original English with helping to spread the English language across Europe and the rest of the world.
Background and development
The beginning of 1964 saw the Beatles reaching international levels of fame. On 14 and 15 January, the Beatles arrived in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
for a 19-day residency at the
Olympia Theatre. On 25 January 1964, after returning to the hotel from a show, Beatles manager
Brian Epstein informed them that "
I Want to Hold Your Hand" reached number one in the United States on the
''Cashbox'' Top 100 chart. On 1 February, it went to number one on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100. From this point forward, Epstein focused on promoting the Beatles to the international market. Otto Demmlar, a producer of the German sub-label of
EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...
, , conceived the Beatles recording songs in German.
Odeon Records
Odeon Records is a record label founded in 1903 by Max Straus and Heinrich Zuntz of the International Talking Machine Company in Berlin, Germany. The label's name and logo come from the Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe in Paris.
History
Straus an ...
insisted with Epstein and Beatles producer
George Martin
Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the B ...
that if they wanted to sell more records in
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
, the band would need to rerecord their biggest songs in German. At that time, recording unique versions for foreign markets was a standard practice.
Odeon sent
Luxembourger
Luxembourgers ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerger ) are a Germanic ethnic group and nation native to their nation state of Luxembourg, where they make up around half of the population. They share the culture of Luxembourg and speak Luxembourgish.
Luxembour ...
Camillo Felgen
Camillo Jean Nicolas Felgen (17 November 1920 – 16 July 2005) was a Luxembourgish singer, lyricist, disc jockey, and television presenter, who represented Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest 1960 and in 1962.
Biography
Felgen started ...
, a popular presenter from
Radio Luxembourg, to make translations and meet Martin and the Beatles in Paris. Felgen initially translated both sides of the original "
She Loves You" single, with the
A-side becoming "" and the B-side "
I'll Get You
"I'll Get You" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by Lennon–McCartney, and released by the Beatles as the B-side of their 1963 single "She Loves You". The song was initially titled "Get You in the End".
Structure
Typical ...
" becoming "". Beatles writer John C. Winn translates this back to English as "Happy like never before". Because it was a more recent hit, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" replaced "I'll Get You" and became the prospective A-side of the single, with Felgen translating the title as "". Beatles writer
Kenneth Womack translates this back to English as "Come on, give me your hand" while Winn translates it as "Come, give me your hand". Felgen translated under several
pen name
A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name.
A pen na ...
s, including Jean Nicolas, Heinz Hellmer and Lee Montague. The credits on "" are
Lennon–McCartney–Nicolas–Hellmer while the credits on "" are Lennon–McCartney–Nicolas–Montague.
Musicologist Walter Everett writes that both translations take great liberties. He singles out the
chorus
Chorus may refer to:
Music
* Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse
* Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound
* Chorus form, song in which all verse ...
of "" in particular, which became, "" These lyrics translate to English as: "She loves you / yeah, yeah, yeah / for with you alone / can she only be happy." In his book ''
Revolution in the Head'',
Ian MacDonald says, "The German rewrite didn't go so far as insisting on ''." Womack writes a more direct translation of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" would be "".
Recording
On 24 January 1964 at
EMI Recording Studios
Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music c ...
,
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
Norman Smith made a tape-to-tape copy of the basic rhythm track of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" from take 17 of the original 17 October 1963 session. The tape was brought by Martin and Smith during their travels to Paris, where they met with the Beatles. On 29 January 1964, the Beatles were due in the studio to record the German translations. In an interview for
Mark Lewisohn's 1988 book ''
The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions'', Martin recalled of the day:
The Beatles recorded "" and "", along with McCartney's new song "
Can't Buy Me Love", at EMI's Pathé Marconi Studios in Paris. This was their first recording session outside Abbey Road and the band's only one outside of the United Kingdom. "" was the first of three songs recorded that day. Martin produced it, being supported by engineers Smith and Jacques Esmenjaud. Smith recalled, "I found the studio very odd to work in, the equipment was alien to anything we were used to", and, "
here
Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to:
Software
* Here Technologies, a mapping company
* Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here
Television
* Here TV (formerly "here!"), a TV ...
was absolutely no atmosphere!" The original rhythm track was
mixed down from four-track to
two-track. The Beatles
overdubbed German vocals and handclaps across 11 takes, as well as
George Harrison
George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...
's
Country Gent. Takes five and seven were marked "best" and edited together, along with a handclap overdub. The original two-track tape of "She Loves You", recorded on 1 July 1963, had been erased after the
mono
Mono may refer to:
Common meanings
* Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease"
* Monaural, monophonic sound reproduction, often shortened to mono
* Mono-, a numerical prefix representing anything single
Music Performers
* Mono (Japanese b ...
master was finished, meaning the Beatles needed to record "" entirely from scratch. They recorded a new rhythm track in 13 takes.
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
's rhythm guitar distinguishes the German and English backing tracks from one another. In July 1963 on "She Loves You", he plays his
Gibson
Gibson may refer to:
People
* Gibson (surname)
Businesses
* Gibson Brands, Inc., an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment
* Gibson Technology, and English automotive and motorsport company based
* Gi ...
J-160E
The Shenyang J-16 ( Chinese: 歼-16) is a Chinese advanced fourth-generation, tandem-seat, twinjet, multirole strike fighterBronk, page 38 developed from the Shenyang J-11 (itself derived from the Sukhoi Su-27) and built by Shenyang Aircraft Co ...
, a guitar later stolen in early January 1964 during the Beatles' 1963–64 Christmas show. For "", he instead plays his
Rickenbacker
Rickenbacker International Corporation is a string instrument manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California. The company is credited as the first known maker of electric guitars – a steel guitar in 1932 – and today produces a range ...
325 Capri. The Beatles overdubbed German vocals in a single take – take 14. Smith recalled, "They were extremely pleased to get it over with... we all were." The Beatles worked quicker than anticipated and so cancelled a second session booked for two days later on 31 January 1964. They used their remaining studio time to record four takes of "Can't Buy Me Love".
On 10 March 1964, while the Beatles filmed ''
A Hard Day's Night'', Martin, assisted by Smith, mixed "" and "" for mono at EMI Recording Studios. He used the combined edit of takes five and seven for the former and take 14 for the latter. Two days after the initial mix, they mixed the songs for
stereo
Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...
,
equalizing,
compressing and adding
echo as well. Copies of the mixes were sent to West Germany and the United States. Everett comments that the most noticeable differences between the mixes of "" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand" are Lennon's compressed Capri guitar, which is heard more freely in the German version, and Harrison's Gent guitar, which has a different bass
register
Register or registration may refer to:
Arts entertainment, and media Music
* Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc.
* ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller
* Registration (organ), the ...
.
Release and impact
Odeon released the German single of ""
b/w "" across West Germany in March 1964. The songs reached number one and seven in the
German charts
The GfK Entertainment charts are the official music charts in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindust ...
, respectively.
In Denmark, the single reached number 15. Sourced from the German release,
Parlophone released the single in Australia during June 1964, though it failed to chart.
Swan Records, a small
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
-based
record label
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...
mainly known for
novelty records, obtained the US rights to "She Loves You" in September 1963. After the Beatles recorded "", Swan argued they likewise held the rights to that song. Swan released "" b/w "I'll Get You" in the US on 21 May 1964. The single was on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for one week, peaking at number 97.
Capitol Records
Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...
included "" as the closing track on the Beatles' North American album ''
Something New'' in July 1964. Beatles biographer Jonathan Gould refers to this as "an added curiosity". MacDonald ascribes the inclusion to Capitol being "newly anxious to exploit every last scrap of Beatles product..." Both Everett and Winn write that the songs were released in the US because of the American public's desperation for new Beatles material. Following these recordings, the Beatles never recorded foreign versions of their songs again.
In ''The Beatles Anthology'', Martin reflected of the songs: "They were the only things they have ever done in a foreign language. And they didn't need to anyway
..The records would have sold in English, and did." By the end of 1963, the Beatles had already achieved hits in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
and
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
without needing to record translated versions.
Peter Doggett credits the Beatles popularity with helping spread the English language throughout Europe, especially among young people. MacDonald offers similar sentiments, but goes further, asserting they helped spread English around the world.
Parlophone released both tracks for the first time in the UK on the 1978
compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...
''
Rarities''. This was the first stereo release of "" anywhere. In addition, the release eliminates a stray English word ("coming") present on the original stereo version of "". In the US, "" remained readily available on re-releases of ''Something New''. "" however fell out of print after its 1964 release. The song remained unavailable in the US until Capitol included the stereo version on the 1980 American compilation album ''
Rarities''. Both tracks were first released on
compact disc
The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then rele ...
for the 1988 compilation ''
Past Masters, Volume One
''Past Masters'' is a two-disc compilation album set by the English rock band the Beatles. It was originally released as two separate volumes on 7 March 1988, as part of the first issue of the band's catalogue on compact disc. The set compiles ...
''. The stereo and mono tracks were
remastered
Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used.
Mastering
A ...
and included on the 2009 releases ''
Past Masters
''Past Masters'' is a two-disc compilation album set by the English rock band the Beatles. It was originally released as two separate volumes on 7 March 1988, as part of the first issue of the band's catalogue on compact disc. The set compiles ...
'' and ''
Mono Masters
''Mono Masters'' is a compilation album by the Beatles, and is an alternate, all-mono version of the album ''Past Masters''. ''Mono Masters'' was originally a two-CD set included as part of ''The Beatles in Mono
''The Beatles in Mono'' is a ...
''.
"" is featured in the 2019
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
film ''
Jojo Rabbit
''Jojo Rabbit'' is a 2019 comedy-drama film written and directed by Taika Waititi, adapted from Christine Leunens's 2008 book ''Caging Skies''. Roman Griffin Davis portrays the title character, Johannes "Jojo" Betzler, a ten-year-old Hitler You ...
'', directed by
Taika Waititi
Taika David Cohen (born 16 August 1975), known professionally as Taika Waititi ( ), is a New Zealand filmmaker, actor, and comedian. He is a recipient of an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Grammy Award, and has received two nominations at t ...
, and
its soundtrack. After initially being denied, the film's composer
Michael Giacchino helped secure the rights to the song by contacting McCartney, with whom he had previously worked.
Personnel
According to Everett, Winn and MacDonald:
*
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
vocal, rhythm guitar, handclaps
*
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
vocal, bass, handclaps
*
George Harrison
George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...
lead guitar, handclaps
*
Ringo Starr
Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...
drums, handclaps
According to Lewisohn and MacDonald:
[: new rhythm track for "" based on the original "She Loves You", vocal overdub of German vocals; : personnel for "She Loves You".]
* John Lennon vocal, rhythm guitar
* Paul McCartney vocal, bass
* George Harrison harmony vocal, lead guitar
* Ringo Starr drums
Charts
Notes
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Full lyrics to "Komm, gib mir deine Hand" at the Beatles' official websiteFull lyrics to "Sie liebt dich" at the Beatles' official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Komm, gib mir deine Hand Sie liebt dich
1964 singles
1964 songs
The Beatles songs
German-language songs
Number-one singles in Germany
Song recordings produced by George Martin
Songs published by Northern Songs
Songs written by Lennon–McCartney
Swan Records singles